AutoZone Liberty Bowl gets prime Dec. 31 afternoon slot on ESPN

Arkansas players Bret Harris (left) and John Durmon strut with the trophy after the Razorbacks won their first Liberty Bowl, beating East Carolina, 20-17, in overtime on a chilly Saturday night.

Depending on who wins this year's 52nd AutoZone Liberty Bowl, there's going to be some hearty partying on Beale Street on New Year's Eve.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart said Tuesday that this year's game will be played Dec. 31 with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. He's happy that the bowl got the much-sought Friday afternoon TV slot.

"A lot of work went into getting this date," Ehrhart said. "AutoZone officials worked with ESPN on this, and ESPN was willing to give us the spot because of viewership we had by the end of last year's game."

That game, a 20-17 overtime victory by Arkansas over East Carolina, had a peak viewership rating of 7.3 the last quarter hour. It was the highest peak viewership for any of the bowls on ESPN since 2006, and the second highest peak viewership of all 85 ESPN college football games during the regular and bowl seasons. It was only surpassed by a regular-season game between USC and Ohio State.

The last two years, the bowl was played Jan. 2 with a late afternoon kickoff. But this year, with the changing bowl landscape and bowls jockeying for dates, Ehrhart was satisfied to get a New Year's Eve date for the 11th time in the bowl's history.

"This sets up perfectly for visitors to come here for a three-day weekend," Ehrhart said. "After the game, they can experience New Year's Eve in downtown Memphis, and that's always fun."

Now that the bowl has a playing date, all that's left for Ehrhart is to work out the last details of a four-year extension with the Southeastern Conference and Conference USA. A Big East team possibly might be in the mix should the SEC not have enough bowl eligible teams.